Dogs have historically been used in hunting. A dog is generally used to retrieve a downed animal, especially downed fowls. Often, a dog is used to identify, or point, hidden fowls so those hidden fowls can be flushed and downed while in flight. As with any skill, the dog must learn to retrieve and/or to point.
Accordingly, the training of hunting dogs has been carried out for nearly as long as dogs have been used in hunting. Hunting dog training is carried out by both professional and amateur dog trainers. The skills required to efficiently and reliably retrieve and/or point are often only as good as the training. Presently, training techniques can be inefficient and are often less than effective.
Some of these training techniques include throwing sticks or other such objects and teaching the dog to retrieve such thrown objects. These techniques have several inadequacies with regard to teaching efficient and reliable retrieving of downed birds. For example, the dog does not learn how to approach a bird that may be moving, or how to properly pick up such a bird, or the like.
Accordingly, there is a need for a means and a method for efficiently training a dog to effectively and reliably retrieve and/or point.
Some improved techniques include using an object that has the general appearance of a bird. These improved techniques do improve the efficiency of the training, but are still not as efficient as possible because they do not teach the dog how to approach a downed bird that may still be moving.
Still further improvement in dog training efficiency can be achieved by attaching a tether to the thrown object and moving that object as the dog approaches it. This will teach the dog how to approach a downed bird that may still be moving.
While improving the efficiency of dog training, the just-mentioned technique still has several shortcomings.
Any learned skill will degrade over time if it is not constantly refreshed and reinforced. Therefore, to ensure maximum effect, a hunting dog's skills should be refreshed and reinforced on a consistent basis. However, most presently-used training techniques are very much like work and are not totally enjoyed by either the dog or the trainer. As a result, hunting skills of many hunting dogs degrade due to lack of continued training.
Therefore, there is a need for a means and a method for efficiently training a dog to effectively and reliably retrieve and/or point in a manner that permits efficient and effective reinforcement of learned skills.
A further shortcoming of present training techniques concerns the development of a hunting dog's sense of smell. Hunting dogs rely on their sense of smell during a retrieving and/or pointing procedure. If the object used to train the dog does not have the proper scent, the training is incomplete and hence not as efficient and effective as possible.
Furthermore, if a dog is not familiar with the object being thrown during the retrieval training, the training will have to begin by familiarizing the dog with the object. This slows the training process and makes it less efficient. An unfamiliar object may make the training of pointing very inefficient as well.
Therefore, there is a need for a means and a method for efficiently training a dog to effectively and reliably retrieve and/or point which uses an object that the dog is familiar with.
Often, due to the inefficiencies associated with present training techniques, the training procedure is not as pleasant for the dog as it could be. The more pleasant the training process, the more efficient and effective it will be both for the dog and for the trainer.
Therefore, there is a need for a means and a method for efficiently training a dog to effectively and reliably retrieve and/or point which is as pleasant as possible for both the dog and for the trainer.
Since hunting dogs can be a large investment in both time and money for many hunters, it is desirable to be able to use dog for hunting as soon as possible. However, due to the deficiencies of many training techniques, some dog training often can only begin after the dog ages out of the puppy stage and grows into a full grown dog. The AKC as well as many veterinarians have definitions of puppy and full grown dog.” Such definitions are known to dog owners, trainers and handlers. Such definitions are adopted here and are incorporated herein by reference. Generally, for hunting purposes, a dog is considered as a puppy for approximately its first year of life and then is considered as a fully grown dog. Still further, for hunting purposes, a dog's sense of smell does not fully develop until that dog is approximately two years old.
Therefore, there is a need for a means and a method for efficiently training a dog to effectively and reliably retrieve and/or point with the training beginning as early as possible.